The question by the prime witness acted as an evidence and the 35-year-old labourer was convicted for his wife’s murder in a record time of 13 days.

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Bengaluru: When sessions court judge S B Vastramutt, known for his speedy judgments, convicted a man within 13 days of crime, people were amazed to know that this time a three-year-old boy had played a crucial role in fast-tracking the case.

“The child’s statement played a crucial role in the case. The 36 other witnesses abided by their statements during the trial,” Chitradurga SP Shrinath Joshi told News18.

The convict, 35-year-old labourer Sridhar, killed his wife Sakamma (31) on suspicion of infidelity at their house in Challakere taluk’s Baggalurangavvanahalli village on June 27. At the time of the incident, the couple’s year-old child was asleep, while their three-year-old son witnessed the crime.

The child ran out in the middle of the night and told his aunt Manjula living next door about the incident. When her husband went to the boy’s house, he found Sakamma lying in a pool of blood, following which they informed Turuvanuru police and Sridhar was chargesheeted on June 29.

When the case was posted for hearing on Monday, the court brought the three-year-old child face to face with his father. The boy, with tears welled up in his eyes, just asked a question to his dad — Why did you kill my mother?.

The question by the prime witness acted as an evidence and the 35-year-old labourer was convicted for his wife’s murder in a record time of 13 days.

Judge Vastramutt advised Sridhar to be good to his children after coming out of jail and not be vengeful. He said that he would write to the state government, seeking financial help for the convict’s children.

Sridhar requested the judge to allow him to meet his children before going to jail and the latter obliged. While Sridhar hugged his younger child, the older son kept away and stared at him. But after a while, he too went to his father.